Born in New Plymouth in 1977, Jamie Banks was the only Asian-looking boy in his Caucasian family (his Filipino father having fled the scene before birth). He has a BA Hons majoring in English and is a qualified secondary teacher involved in turning an Auckland school’s detention room into a centre of psychological awareness. He is a stress seminar leader, a TV extra (non-speaking parts), and has written two self-improvement books, Whatever You Do, Don’t Smile and Navigating Love, which have been published in New Zealand , England , and India .

After living in Japan for a total of two years he has begun to identify more strongly with his Asian background. He is also heavily influenced by the teachings of racial and inter-religious unity found in the Bahá’í Writings. His interests include rugby, Middle Eastern religions and politics, guitar, and nutrition. Jamie can be found on myspace at: